A Tale of Two Tails

Nicki

When you lose an adopted rescue after eleven great years, it can be very hard to welcome another into your life. We decided to try fostering a dog that had been at the shelter nine months. Her name was Unique. I had been checking the adoption page and couldn't understand why such a beautiful looking dog was still at the shelter, so we brought her home to foster. It only took a phone call from the shelter a week later explaining that a family was interested in her that made us decide we would be adopting Unique, now called Nicki. Nicki is still a little leash reactive with some dogs, but she is doing much better. She is the sweetest girl imaginable, very well behaved, not very big on kisses, but always wagging her tail. Nicki likes to howl when she is talking to you. Scooby taught her to bark.

Scooby

I was in the driveway at the shelter the day Erica drove up with Scooby in the front seat of the white pickup. Erica had just returned from Apache Junction AC. "What a great looking dog" I thought. I had to get a better look so I went back to #15. Scooby uttered a very low growl, as to say "leave me alone, I don't know you". This wasn't going very well, so I left him alone, but would always check in on him when I was at the shelter. After neuter surgery he became the office dog and by that time had much more interaction with people and became more sociable. In July when the office floors were getting epoxy installed I brought Nicki to the shelter for an intro to Scooby. If it went well I would foster Scooby. Let's just say I drove home with Nicki and Scooby in my back seat that morning. A week or so later we paid a deposit on Scooby and finalized the adoption ten days later.

Two Dogs

This is the first time I've had two dogs at once. Walking both together can be an experience. Starting with their leashes, Nicki will howl, Scooby pushes Nicki with his head and a body bump, Nicki retaliates with a nip to his legs, then Scooby will mouth Nicki's head or back, she will return the mouthing. I have to referee and separate them or their play will go on indefinitely. It is like having a brother and sister in the back seat of a car on a long trip that are poking and tormenting each other. They both want to be first out the door, with Nicki scooting under Scooby to get out first. Once out the door things are normal again. When one catches a scent on the ground, both will investigate, nose to nose, head to head. This brother and sister are inseparable. Having two dogs is different for us, so it's now double the love and double the fun.